Tom Curry pens new Sale deal but Sanderson unsure what comes after

Sale Sharks boss Alex Sanderson admits that he wants to see talisman Tom Curry finish his career at the club after the England and Lions star put pen to paper on a new contract.

Curry, 28, who can play anywhere across the back-row, entered the final year of his contract in July, but the Gallagher PREM outfit have been quick to extend his current deal by a year, even though there was little chance of him moving elsewhere.

Sanderson says that Curry, who will be at the club until at least 2028, will then assess his options and see how his body feels two years after being diagnosed with a career-threatening femoroacetabular impingement syndrome.

He needed a career-saving operation for recurring pain around a non-recovering hip joint, but Sanderson believes that he is as fit and fast as he has ever been.

“The terms are, it’s a couple of years. And that’s on Tom’s desire to ensure that he’s physically in the best spot to be able to honour his contract to play. Then we both said we’ll see where his body’s at at that point. We both desire him to finish his career at Sale.

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“He’s been in some of the best environments, internationally and with the British & Irish Lions. He was the one in the Six Nations in the middle of it when the bullets were flying and the bombs were dropping.

“He was the one, after some of the really honest conversations, that said we need to keep the core group together. He’s fundamental to us, really the keystone to that core group.

“He’s surpassing expectations, his own medical expectations and what’s gone before him in terms of the injury that he had. We’re not seeing any signs of wear and tear at this point, and it might come into play later down the line.

“But at this point, he’s as fresh and as mobile as he’s ever been. Clearly, we got some things wrong as a team at the weekend, but in general, he had a lot of involvement, and he worked the hardest of all the forwards.

“So his capacity to work is right back where it needs to be, where it’s been in the past. And that’s the only thing you can measure on, can’t you?” said Sanderson.

In total, Curry has played more than 125 games for Sale, won 71 England caps and represented the British and Irish Lions on six occasions across two tours.

“Sale Sharks means everything to me and this is the club I have supported my whole life. From a young age I can remember going to Edgeley Park and now to be able to replicate my heroes growing up is something that is hard to put into words,” Curry said.

“To be able to say I can do that with my brother every week and my family up here makes it even more special.

“I’m very proud of the hard work we’ve put in over the last ten years to get the club to where it is now, but I know how much more we have to give and that’s the reason I want to stay. There’s no place I would rather be.”